TOPIC: What 10lbs of Stratified Ginseng Seed Looks Like

Guy
It sounds like you have a lot of experience with stratifying seed that I have may not have read or heard about before. I have read and researched and talked to many a ginseng seed supplier.

I will be stratifying my own seed someday and I would love to hear more from you about this topic of stratifying seeds. It sounds like there is more to it than simply layering sand and seed then burying it for 12 months

It would make a great post and I bet a lot of us might like to hear what you would say. I know I would.

I have heard of some stratification boxes that have gone bad and all seeds were lost. That would seriously stink and I would hate that to happen to my seed that I stratify someday. I have stratified seed on a small scale with no issues. However I cannot imagine losing thousands of seed in a stratification box with a problem.

Thanks,
Latt

Great Lakes Woodland Ginseng Company

Anyone ever seen this one before? Click on photos too for a look at there \"Woods Cultivated\" ginseng farm pics.

www.woodlandginseng.com/Home.htm

Latt

Latt

Yes, I posted a link of this one last year. Pretty impressive operation!

Thanks,
classicfur

5 yrs later. How was your return so far?

Double Shorthair.
Results will vary dramatically depending on so many factors that have been mentioned on this forum.

In my opinion and generalizing by melding a bunch of info I have witnessed, experienced and read over the years, I would estimated the following.

You can expect anywhere from 0% to !0% survival rate on \"wild simulated\" after 10 years.

I would say I am somewhere in that range on those 10 lbs of seed I had planted. More like 1% to 2 % if I had to put a number on it. That's about 650 to 1300 big ole 3 and 4 prongs doing very well. It looks like I have a bunch of plants as they are everywhere at my best spot. However, considering I planted about 65,000 + seeds you would expect to see a lot more ginseng than I have.

By the way this is a spot where the soil is so dark and loamy it looks like potting soil on a slope facing east. Calcium is over 6,000 PPA. So if this great spot only produced that many plants just think what an average spot or below average spot would do.

So if you can get 10% survival rate after 10 years then you would be doing great in my opinion.

Thanks,
Latt

You pretty well said it latt !
I've had the same experience over the years. The farm 4 year old plant seeds are geneticly inferior to wild seed. I wish I had never planted that first cultivated seed.
Now the 8 year old woods grown seed might be all right. I'm trying 1/2 lb. to see what happens.

rootman

Rootman,
If I remember correctly that 10 lbs was not field cultivated seed. I think it was woods cultivated seed. Not as good as wild but better than field cultivated in my opinion.

By looking at my pics I think I remember the seeds varying in size shape and color which leads me to believe I bought these from a woods cultivated source. (I used to map and track this stuff but I can't find my darn log book).

I have bought field cultivated seeds before and they are big seeds all one color and very similar in size from my experience.

I am not dogging any seed as I know many have had success with seeds from many different sources. However Rootman, I agree with you from my own personal experiences.

Good luck,
Latt

A person would be better off transplanting wild ginseng to get a start. Cultivated seed can bring in disease that you can never seem to get rid of.

Leno,

I have planted many different sites. A couple of sites were planted about 80 miles from where I live. I had terrible germination. Perhaps it came up and died due to disease. Who knows, but I know I planted it good and when I went to check on them there was only a few growing out of 5lbs of seed. So perhaps they got wiped out when they came up.

Now on the other hand I have many spots doing pretty good and have never had any disease problems and these are 5 year old plantings to 7 year old plantings. (Knock on wood).
Latt

Guys,
I have several plants that did survive and I've been picking the berries each year and planting those.
I'm just hoping the seng will build up a tolerance to diseases and climate.
I guess if it was easy seng wouldn't be worth anything.
I read where pink lady slippers can only grow in a certain type soil with a special fungi in the soil making transplanting almost impossible. Who knows for sure about ginseng?